


Lies Torn Asunder

by flowersheep



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Magic Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 00:07:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15762537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowersheep/pseuds/flowersheep
Summary: As Lot's army marches ever closer to Camelot, Arthur receives an unexpected visitor that sparks a host of realizations about his manservant.





	Lies Torn Asunder

**Author's Note:**

> So at one point I imagined this whole AU in which Balinor didn't die and he and Merlin kept in touch. This fic stems from that AU.
> 
> Takes place post s4.

The dragon landed with a ground shaking _boom_ and was immediately surrounded by guards. Beside him, Leon urgently suggested that they retreat into the citadel, but Arthur stood resolute at the top of the stone steps. With the dragon on the ground it was easy to see the man astride it, dressed in strange armor, face hidden beneath his hood. He had no weapon drawn, though the sword at his side was no doubt not the only method with which the stranger could cause harm. The dragon itself seemed uninterested in the happenings of the courtyard, dismissing the armed guards with a snort to settle more comfortably as the rider slid from its back. The guards kept darting glances at him, looking for orders without taking their eyes off the great scaly beast for longer than they had to. Arthur made a subtle gesture for his men to hold position, keeping his focus on the approaching dragon rider. If this were an attack, it was an odd one and as long as there was no immediate threat, he was willing to see where this went. The stranger stopped just short of the steps and pushed back his hood. Arthur stared.

“This is some kind of trickery,” the king declared. Because there was no other explanation for how the dragonlord he and Merlin had gone in search of years ago could be standing before him now, alive and well.

“No trickery,” the dragonlord said.

Arthur resisted the urge to shake his head and blink several times. “You’re dead.”

“A reasonable assumption, considering the circumstances. However, dead and nearly dead are not the same thing. One can be recovered from.”

Arthur recalled that day in the woods of Essetir, when one of Cenred’s patrols had nearly gotten the drop on them. He remembered turning at the sound of Merlin’s cry, expecting to see his servant bleeding on the ground. Instead it had been the dragonlord, their only hope of driving off the dragon terrorizing Camelot. He hadn’t taken the time to check for himself that the dragonlord was dead, merely thrown their supplies on the horses, grabbed Merlin, and rushed to return to Camelot. It was, he supposed, entirely possible that the dragonlord hadn’t yet been dead and that someone had come along and saved his life. The druids, most likely.

“What is your purpose here?” Arthur asked. “Have you come to seek vengeance?” The guards surrounding the dragon tensed further, if possible, but the dragonlord simply laughed.

“What would I be seeking vengeance for?” the dragonlord asked in turn. “Uther is dead and I have no quarrel with you. No, I have come to answer your call for aid.”

Arthur frowned. “I sent no such call to you.”

“I did.”

Every eye in the courtyard sought out the open doors of the citadel where Merlin stood tall and determined, despite the exhaustion that had been plaguing him ever since word of Lot’s intent to invade had reached them. His tunic had dark blood stains on it, curtesy of the recently returned scouting party. There was even a smear of it on his cheek. With the long hours he’d been working he should be in bed resting, but there he stood, looking suddenly much older as resignation started to creep in alongside the determination. It was he who had spoken and Arthur found he had trouble making sense of it all.

“Merlin what are you talking about?” he demanded. Merlin sighed. His eyes swept over the courtyard with a strangely analytical glint as he came forward to place himself between his king and the dragonlord.

“I sent for Balinor,” Merlin said. The defiance in his tone was readily apparent, but it was only from years of friendship that Arthur was able to identify the fear it hid. Because Merlin knew exactly what he was admitting to.

It was Leon’s strangled sound of surprise that alerted Arthur to the movement of one of the guards, just in time for him to command, “Stop!” The guard froze, tip of his sword a mere inch from Merlin’s side. Merlin hadn’t flinched, hadn’t made any move to defend himself or move out of the way. But Arthur didn’t miss the way Balinor had tensed, one foot now resting on the first stone step and his right hand lowering slowly from where it had been brought up in preparation for a spell. There was protectiveness in his expression and Arthur was reminded of how quickly Merlin and Balinor had bonded when they’d first met.

“Consorting with sorcerers is an act of treason, sire,” the guard said.

“Yes, I’m sure everyone here is aware of Uther’s senseless laws,” Balinor said, rolling his eyes in a way that reminded Arthur startlingly of Merlin. “Particularly the king.”

Arthur was still trying to wrap his head around everything that was happening. None of it wanted to make any sense. But there was one thing he clung to, one thing he believed above all else. Merlin was his friend. Merlin would never hurt him.

“All are entitled to a fair trial before the law,” Arthur said.

“And what about the dragon he called to attack us!” the guard insisted. Balinor glanced over his shoulder and snorted. Arthur looked as well and guessed the amusement came from the fact that the dragon Balinor had arrived on seemed to have fallen asleep.

“I would hardly call this an attack,” Arthur said. “Now stand down. I will hear what Merlin has to say.” For a moment, it looked as though the guard were considering ignoring a direct order from his king. Leon had his hand on the hilt of his sword, not yet drawing it, but ready to do so. Still Merlin didn’t so much as twitch. It was unnerving how willing he was to accept death for the simple act of sending a message and it was what solidified Arthur’s resolve to hear what Merlin had to say. Finally, the guard lowered his sword and stepped back. Arthur sent a quick glance to Leon and received a curt nod. _Yes_ , Leon silently confirmed, _I will keep an eye on the guards and make sure no one else makes a move_.

Turning back to Merlin, he asked, “How long have you been in contact?”

“Years,” Merlin admitted. He held Arthur’s gaze unwaveringly, even as his shoulders slumped and the determination started to drain from his expression.

“Why?” _Why did you do it, knowing you were risking death? What has this man done to earn your trust and loyalty? Why didn’t you ever tell me?_

At first, Merlin didn’t answer. He clenched his hands into fists and looked away, thinking. Considering how much of the truth he wanted to reveal. Arthur wondered how many other times Merlin had made this consideration.

He wasn’t sure what to expect. His father’s teachings told him to expect an admission of betrayal, of a plot Merlin had been patiently building for years and was ready to put into motion now that he could take advantage of Camelot’s weakness. Except that wasn’t Merlin. Merlin was kind and loyal and brave. He cried over unicorns and picked flowers in the woods and selflessly put himself in harms way to protect those he loved. Arthur’s mind refused to accept the idea that Merlin would betray him.

Finally, Merlin looked Arthur in the eye again and said, “Because he’s my father.”

The courtyard was so silent you could’ve heard a pin drop. It made an awful lot of sense, Arthur decided. The bond of a parent and child would explain how quickly Merlin had become attached to Balinor, the way Merlin had grieved after they’d thought Balinor dead, and the protectiveness Balinor had displayed today in the courtyard. It would also explain why Merlin was willing to risk death to keep in contact with a known fugitive of Camelot. Considering what Arthur had done in order to receive the barest glimpse of his mother, he couldn’t begrudge Merlin clinging to whatever connection to his father he could have. That didn’t, however, change the fact that Balinor was considered a fugitive sorcerer by Camelot’s laws and that any contact with him was a crime punishable by death. And then there were the other implications, the ones Arthur didn’t want to think too hard about. Because magic had a tendency to run in families.

“The law considers this treason, Merlin,” Arthur said.

Merlin’s smile was tired and bitter. “So it does. But we’re running out of time and I didn’t know what else to do.”

“And what is it you’re trying to do?” He would be angry later, furious. Six years he’d trusted Merlin, assuming he had that same trust in return, only to learn he had been fooled all along. Merlin was no clumsy ignorant farm boy. He was a dragonlord, that much had been made too clear to deny, and very likely a sorcerer as well. But there was a part of Arthur still clinging to the friend who had stumbled into his life all those years ago. The friend who had stood by him and supported him, from his best to his worst. How much of that had been genuine? He had to know. He had to understand.

“We are outmatched,” Merlin said matter of factly. “I’ve seen the scouting reports, heard the news brought by the refugees from outlying villages. Camelot hasn’t yet regained the strength needed to repel Lot’s invasion. Even if we had, the enemy marches with magic on their side. Uther could say all he wanted that steel and sinew alone are enough to overcome magic, but it doesn’t make him any less wrong. Magic must be answered with magic.”

“We have fought magic with steel and sinew alone and prevailed,” Arthur said, but Merlin shook his head, grimacing with something greatly resembling guilt mixed with an apology.

“No, you haven’t. It is the strength of steel and sinew and magic combined that has kept Camelot safe for years now and I am begging you to allow it to keep Camelot safe once more. When the kingdom is once again secure I will submit myself to your judgement.”

Arthur was silent, letting all this new information roll around in his head. He wanted to say that he didn’t recognize this Merlin. Confident, despite the very real possibility of his execution, strong and steady. He looked nothing like a servant, even with his poor, threadbare clothes. He looked noble, as highborn as any lord or lady Arthur had seen, perhaps even more so. Arthur wanted to say that this Merlin was a stranger to him. Except he wasn’t. This was the Merlin Arthur had seen glimpses of over the years, a man who spoke with wisdom beyond his station and showed loyalty fiercer than any knight. A healer and protector who took up arms to defend his loved ones. In any other man those qualities would earn them respect. But in a sorcerer all the noble qualities in the world didn’t matter. Or so Arthur had been taught. There was one particular memory rising to the surface where he’d buried it years ago that begged to differ.

A magical plague sweeping through the city, felling anyone it touched. Gwen’s panic the day her father was too sick to wake and her despair when Gaius gently told her there was nothing he could do. The poultice found under her father’s pillow the next day. Merlin bursting into the council chambers declaring that it was him, not Gwen, who had made the poultice and healed Tom. Gaius’s ashen, terrified face even as Arthur stepped forward to save Merlin from the pyre over what he’d assumed at the time was young love.

An act of love. Arthur himself had called it that when attempting to argue Gwen’s innocence to his father. The plague had been an act of evil, but the healing of Gwen’s father had been an act of love, performed by a foolish boy who hadn’t been able to bear to see his friend suffer. Arthur thought of the approaching army, strong not just in numbers, but also in magic. His father had once talked of a guardian angel watching over him. Merlin was no angel, but the word ‘guardian’ suited him quite well. His eyes slid to the man still waiting at the base of the stairs.

“What can one dragonlord do to help?” he asked. He would consider Merlin’s role in all of this later. Right now it was easier to focus on this.

“I did not come alone,” Balinor said. “Those among my people who were willing to follow me are waiting for word of whether or not you will accept our aid.”

Arthur’s brow furrowed. “I was given to believe that there are no other dragonlords, not anymore.”

“And so I believed as well. For many years I assumed Uther had been successful in his quest to wipe out my people. Until I returned to my homeland, intending to finally lay the past to rest, only to find survivors once again thriving in the valley. We are few and not all are willing to put their faith in a Pendragon, but…” Balinor glanced at Merlin. “I am convinced you are a better man than your father. I pray you do not prove me wrong.”

The implication was clear. Balinor was here not because he himself had any great faith in Arthur, but because his son did. It was for Merlin that Balinor had chosen to take this risk. And, Arthur thought as he glanced at his servant, it was for Merlin that he himself would choose to accept this risk as well.

"Tell your people we accept your aid," Arthur declared. He stood for a moment at the top of the stairs, absently listening to the frenzied murmurs of his men, barely aware of Balinor's curt, just respectful bow before he took to the sky again with the dragon. For that long moment he held Merlin's gaze as a wave of emotion crashed over him. Then he forced himself to turn away. There was a war to see to. He didn’t look back, but when the doors close behind him, the quiet of the citadel was disturbed only by the sound of two sets of footsteps. One his own, the other the familiar tread of worn boots following in his wake.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know how many of you know this, [but I do have a tumblr](http://merlinsbed.tumblr.com/). Feel free to drop by !


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